Patrick felt the sensation of free falling and bouncing back up over and over as he jumbled around inside the bag of this strange monster.

He could not help himself from shivering in terror, yet his movement was completely restricted by the silky cocoon wrapped around him, and his face was the only exposed part of his body.

However, a thought made it's way into Patrick's terror filled mind as he was being transported.

'Could it really be that the reason I was able to speak calmly with that wasp monster in the first place, is because I am a monster myself!? Of course, I am nowhere near the level of this spider, but.... is that actually possible?'

Patrick feared this possibility.

If he was able to converse freely with these monsters because of what he was, then he wanted no part of himself.

After traveling for a small while, Patrick felt himself thrown onto a cold and hard ground. He looked up, to see a campfire blazing in front of him.

'Eh? Is this where I'm going to be cooked!? NO! I don't want to die like this! I wasn't even able to do anything! This would just be....'

Patrick then recalled his entire purpose in coming here.

'You know what.... fine. This is fine. This is the same as if I were to have turned myself into the guards and be scheduled for execution. These other monsters may live on. That spider.... he is too strong. I don't know if I have ever met any mercenaries who would be able to beat him, but I can only hope that there is someone out there that is strong enough.... but for me, at least I will be able to die along with this creature inside me. My only regret....is not being able to save the children.'

Patrick was then dumped onto the ground, and the spider and the wasp seemed to disappear from the area.

Patrick looked around, to see a group of children sitting at the campfire happily.

They were..... laughing?

Some were chasing each other around, playing. Others were sitting, while cradling the smaller children in their arms.

Others still were blankly staring off into space.

'Oh god.... all the children of the orphanage.... they're right here! Do.... do they not even understand their own circumstances? They're trapped! Like rats in a maze! Like an insect in a Venus fly trap! Have they somehow been lured in by the sweet smell and are now stuck here, without even knowing? Why do none of them even look the slightest bit scared or concerned???'

It was then that Patrick noticed another person laying next to him in a cocoon.

He rolled over after taking great efforts, to see the face of the person.

"Dr. Kraven!?"

"Patrick! You're here too!"

"What's going on!? I.... I came here after being captured by that spider. Why are all these children here like this!?"

Dr. Kraven seemed to have a somber face.

"I tried to talk with them, to ask them what was going on, but they.... these children...."

Dr. Kraven couldn't help himself from tearing up.

"They've all been brainwashed terribly by those monsters.... they seem to believe that the spider is their father, and that the wasp monster is their mother. I.... I've never seen a case like this. The brainwashing is so deep that I can't even find the root of it. It's as if they truly believe that they are the children of these monsters! Look at how they're happily playing! There's no other explanation! Any regular child in these circumstances would be crying and screaming for help, but it's as if they have no sense of danger at all! They truly don't believe that they are in any form of danger!"

"My goodness...."

Patrick and Kraven bit their lips.

"Dr. Kraven, I suppose it's almost fate that we've met here, as there was something that I wanted to speak to a doctor about."

"What is it, son? Heh heh.... not that we'll be living for much longer after this, but I'll listen to you as my final patient."

"Well...."

Patrick went on to tell his entire story. He knew that Dr. Kraven was no psychologist, but he at least wanted to hear a medical opinion on the thing within him.

"That.... that must be some sort of strange split personality disorder. I myself have never heard anything like that. Getting stronger and killing people, but not being able to remember it? It's strange. It's almost as if there truly is a beast living inside of you. That's something that goes beyond regular medical practices. I think that this might be the work of magic. It's as if there has been some sort of spell cast on you.... a curse even. I'm sorry son, but there's nothing I can do. Well, even if there was something I could do, it looks like our fates have been sealed either way."

"Don't apologize. Thank you, doctor, for hearing me out. At least I'll be able to die together with someone."

"Haha... and to you as well."

"Just why did we come here? I suppose to save those children. But it looks like they might be beyond salvation. I hope that when they are killed, they at least die in that state of bliss..."

Dr. Kraven bit his own lip at hearing the harsh words of Patrick, but he knew that he was right.

There would be no salvation for anyone here.

The greatest hope they could have is for them to die quickly and painlessly.

"I hope so as well...."

The two watched as the children happily played, and wondered if they had really done everything they wanted to do with their lives.

"You know, if I could have lived just a bit longer, I would have liked to find a woman and maybe have some children.", Patrick said as he watched the children with a smile, finally accepting his own fate. "What about you, Kraven? Why didn't you ever find a wife?"

"Well, I suppose I wanted to focus so much on my career that I didn't have time for something like that. Even if I could do things over again, I don't think I would. There's a certain joy in being able to see off a patient after a successful procedure, or even just seeing a family come in for a regular checkup. I don't think I would want to give that up. If I got married, I wouldn't have been able to handle being the only doctor in the village. I have a duty to perform, and I'll perform it till the day I die."

"I see.... that's honorable."

The two became quiet, knowing that their doom was imminent.

"Do you.... do you feel any guilt for killing those people? The thugs? And the others just recently?"

"Strangely enough, I don't. While it's true that I want to kill this monster within me, I don't feel any responsibility for what he does anymore. I mean, that should be obvious. I have no memory of killing those people, and to me it seems like I just woke up and they were dead. At first I was guilty, but after thinking about it for a while, all I can say is that they got unlucky to happen to run into that thing. But even if I didn't kill those men just now, they all would probably be here with us, soon to be killed anyways."

"I see. I suppose that's somewhat of a positive way to look at it. Well, that isn't exactly responsible, but since you made the decision to turn yourself in either way, I think that's fine."

"Strangely though, I am actually somewhat happy that I'm tied up right now. I don't know what I would do with myself if I woke up and I had killed any of these children. Haha.... look at their faces. It almost makes me happy to be here, even knowing that our deaths are only a few hours, or perhaps even minutes away. We don't even know the time of our deaths. We only know that they will at some point come."

"Isn't that how life always is?"

"True enough."

The two continued to watch the children quietly and peacefully.

It was then that Cassandra came up to the two.

"Hey, new guy. Did you get to meet our dad? He's the best dad ever. He even told us that he would let us all go shopping together as a family soon enough! I've never been shopping before. I'm so excited!"

"That's...."

Patrick felt a searing pain in his heart at seeing this delusional child.

He wanted more than anything for her to be able to see this dream through, but he knew there was no way that monster would do such a thing.

"That's great. Good for you.", he said with a fake smile while holding back anger.

'I can't believe that thing.... toying with these children like this....'

----

Kyle and his mothers rode in a fancy carriage. They traveled through the noble district, down all the way to the commercial district where the brothel was located.

Needless to say, it was a complete show of power.

Not a single noble walked in the streets of the noble district. They had hidden themselves in their homes out of fear after fleeing the scene from the royal palace.

The streets were completely silent, aside from the single caravan containing Kyle and his mothers, led by the royal guard with even the royal siblings walking by foot.

To the three royal brothers, this was a complete embarrassment.

Reginald Ruthobold was the oldest of the three sons, and the intended heir to the throne.

He was filled with anger and spite for this 'hero'.

His father had been slaughtered in cold blood.

He had watched this with his very eyes.

For a meaningless reason. The hero spouted some sort of false justice, but it was no doubt just an excuse to take control for himself.

This hero was insane.

There was one man who had said that he was not a hero, but actually an antihero in disguise.

What if that was actually the case?

What if this man was some sort of evil being who had come to sow chaos and reap the benefits for his own?

It was completely possible, and the more Reginald thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

No hero would do the things this hero did.

Sure, he claimed to be doing it for justice and he even spoke some pretty words in front of the guards, but he was nothing more than a crafty murderer who had a sly tongue.

'Me and my brothers must get revenge for the sake of our father! I would like to leave our sister out of this, but I cannot believe this hero would treat her with such disrespect as to force her to become a maidservant! Me and my brothers are one thing, and my own humiliation.... well, I can deal with that. But for our sister to have to suffer through this humiliation too? It's too far! This hero has taken things too far! I'll find a way to defeat him or expose him. But for now, I need to be calm and patient. I cannot anger him, for he is extremely powerful. I need to find out his weaknesses in secret, and then exploit them when the right time comes.'

Reginald made his decision.

He would not be reckless. That was not the type of person he was.

Reginald was an intelligent man, raised to be the heir to the throne.

He was not even angry about having his position be stole from him. Rather, he was concerned for the well being of those around him.

As an older brother, it was his duty to protect his younger siblings, and especially his sister.

His fathers death saddened him, but he had no time to be saddened by such things. He needed to get to work right away, slipping himself into the hands of this new ruler so that he could one day uproot him.

This is what it meant to be royalty.

At any moment, one might experience loss, but they had to be able to cut their own emotions off and do what was good not for themselves, but for the country.

Reginald understood that his father was not exactly a great ruler.

He was selfish, and often did things only for his own immediate gains without looking at the long term consequences.

But to be killed for that?

No, the reason was something even more ludicrous.

It was rediculous. Reginald didn't even want to admit to himself the reason that Kyle gave for his fathers death.

The group rode through the empty town. There were no shops in this district, as it was merely a residential area for nobles, filled with mansions.

'Sigh... I have a great amount of work in front of me...'

----

Kyle rode in the carriage with his mothers. It was a large carriage lined with red velvet inside, and purple drapes symbolized the royalty contained within.

"Mothers, do you see all these mansions? Please take a look around. Soon, I will order that one be given to each of you, so make sure to let me know which one you want."

"Kyle...."

"To think that you would do all this for us...."

"Thank you, Kyle. You really are a wonderful son."

"No, no. Don't thank me, mothers. This is all obvious. A son should provide for the people who raised him, right? I'm merely just giving back to you all the kindness which you once provided me with."

Kyle looked over to Riley, who seemed to be eyeballing one of the houses. It was a very large and luxurious mansion.

"Then, I'll take that one there.", she stated with a sly tongue while pointing to it.

Jordan too looked around.

"Ooh.... there are so many to choose from.... hmm.... which one should I pick?? Man, this is like a dream! It's like we won the lottery, and we're now collecting our winnings! Uh... I think I'll take that one over there."

Naomi smiled.

"Then, me too!! Let me take a look! Um.... hmm.... which one looks best? Ah! I can't decide! Can I choose later, Kyle? I need more time to choose than just passing by each one!"

"Please take as much time as you need. You all are royalty now. You don't even have to pick one if you don't want to, and you can live in the royal palace with me."

"Then, could I do that Kyle?"

It was Irene who asked this.

"Of course, mother! I would love for you to be by my side as I make important political decisions. That goes for all of you. I have a country to run here now, and I want input from each and every single one of you. You all are now my court of nobles! Rather than a Kingdom, I am making this into an Oligarchy where you all have just as much power and say as I do, because I value your opinions. I will be the head only in final decision making."

Irene smiled at Kyle.

"Thank you, Kyle. I could have never imagined anything like this. I was happy with just living our humble lives in that small brothel, but you've raised us up to become noblewomen! Its.... it's amazing."

The kind woman couldn't help but tear up as she said this, her own words spoken with great effort.

Her entire life, Irene had helped people in a way which was considered disgraceful. Yet it was exactly this self sacrificing personality of hers which Kyle admired more than anything, leading him to change the entire system.

He wanted people like Irene to be respected- not hated and rebuked.

"This is only the start, mother. I plan on doing everything I can to pay you all back for what you have done for me. And for everyone else as well, in this entire society."

Kyle looked over to Katelyn.

"You seem somewhat concerned. Is everything alright?"

"Ah, well.... it's just.... well, nothing. I was just wondering what ever happened to my parents."

Kyle knew that Katelyn had a bad past with her family, so he understood what she felt.

"Mother."

"Yes, Kyle?"

"What do you want to be done with them? If I give the order, I could have them executed immediately. If you wish, I could also have them spared and allow them to continue living noble life. You don't have to answer me right now. This is something that you should put much thought into. But just know that I can do whatever you wish."

"Thank you, Kyle...."

Katelyn too seemed to be on the verge of tears as she held her mouth.

"Thank you for being willing to go so far for us...."

Naomi put her arm around Katelyn.

"Aw c'mon Katie! This isn't anything to cry about! This is a happy time! We can finally..... sniff.... huh? I.... I think I'm crying a bit too... sniff...."

Remembering back to her own past, where she was on the streets, Naomi also couldn't stop herself from crying.

They were once the scum of society, thrown out. Thrashed about. Nobody wanted them, and Irene had saved them from a complete life of desolation.

And now, Kyle- the bastard child that had been left there after his mother died- had allowed them to go from their life of desperate yet content poverty, to a life of luxury and prestige.

They understood nothing of politics, but they did understand people. And what was the heart of politics if not people?

Irene asked a question, slightly concerned.

"But Kyle, won't there be any problems if you remove the nobles from their positions? Won't they want to rise against you?"

"Don't worry about that, my mothers. I just removed the king from not only his position, but from his head as well. I can take care of you all, and any problems that arise. Everything will be fine."

The women were all reassured by Kyle's confidence.

He was the hero, after all.

He would be able to captivate the people, and perhaps he would succeed in enforcing his own view of justice about the country.

Julia pointed to one of the homes.

"That one looks very artistic. I think I would like that one, Kyle."

"Will do, mother!"

The eight traveled in the carriage through the noble sector, and down to the commercial sector.

Many people were walking about casually through this busy area.

Of course, rumors began to spread of this strange occurrence. While nobody could see who was in the carriage, the fact that the three royal brothers were walking- and not even riding beside it instead of sitting inside showed that something was clearly off.

This was something which never would regularly happen.

How could it be that the three royal brothers were in the same position as the foot soldiers next to a royal carriage?

It was rediculous.

Impossible.

Even if it were the king himself inside that carriage, would they not be in there with him?

And if not, would they not at least be riding on horses?

Why then, were they walking as if they were nothing more than servants or guards?

These questions were raised among the people who the carriage passed.

Sylvester, the second son who was a warrior, was humiliated at this.

He was a Captain in the royal guard previously, and yet the very men whom he once led were no longer subject to him, but rather to this new king.

He was filled with hatred and frustration.

How could this happen?

How could all these men in the guard change their loyalty so quickly?

More importantly, how could his father be killed and nobody even so much as bats an eye?

That hero was no doubt, a figure of evil.

He needed to be taken down, but as a warrior, Sylvester had no way to do so.

He had fought Kyle before, and that was in training.

He had witnessed Kyle fighting now once more, when the guards attacked him, and there was no chance of winning for any of them.

'Even if the entire army were to take him on alone, I don't think they would be able to win....'

Sylvester was concerned and ashamed.

He had no idea what to do. There was no way out. As a warrior, he always believed that training ones body and becoming stronger was always the right answer.

This was how he became such a prominent figure. Being the son of the king helped, and some nobles would gossip that he had only received his high position due to this, but this was not right.

He was a skilled warrior, through and through. As a matter of fact, were he to be ranked, he would be in the upper 4th tier, on par with powerful mercenaries and magicians.

For someone who was not skilled in magic to achieve this through mere training was almost unheard of. Only a limited number of people in the world were stronger than Sylvester, and hardly any pure warriors were above him. Even the skilled mercenaries would use buffing spells to increase their own fighting abilities.

But, right now he stood as a foot soldier. No, not even that.

A mover. A laborer. A servant.

His current role was to transport goods and luggage for these 'mothers' of the hero.

Ridiculous!

Sylvester grit his teeth as he walked, trying not to make eye contact with any of the civilians around him.

It was too shameful.

'Why? Why was my father killed like this? This should never have happened! There was almost no reason! No, there was no reason! None of this should have happened!'